


Treasured Times

by PhantomL



Category: Free!
Genre: Eventual Sex, Fluff and Smut, Long-Distance Relationship, Love Confessions, M/M, Masturbation, post ep 13 rinharu
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-06
Updated: 2014-10-21
Packaged: 2018-02-19 17:13:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 20,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2396324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhantomL/pseuds/PhantomL
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Haru goes to visit Rin in Australia to see how his training going. The visit leads to a change in their relationship as they confess their love to each other when they were swimming in the pool one night. Before Haru's return, they share some special moments, and then find themselves being in a long-distance relationship where the times they are together really matter. <br/>NOTE: FIC CURRENTLY ON INDEFINITE HIATUS</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, I haven't written smut in ages. The explicit stuff isn't right at the start, so the first few chapters will be fluffy, and this fic probably won't be that long, but I hope you enjoy it.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haru goes to visit Rin in Australia. He arrives worried about what would happen during the meeting. However, Haru is soon feeling more relaxed when he starts to get to know some of Rin's teammates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't written over the last few days as I have had really low self-esteem (and I still do). Hopefully you can enjoy this new chapter, even though I am not too sure on it.

'Are you sure you are ok with this?' Makoto asked, the tall young man sat on Haru's bed, beside the suitcase. Haru folded up his tracksuit jacket and placed it in the suitcase.

'Yes,' he responded. He made his way over to his wardrobe to pull out some smart blue jeans, which he then folded neatly and packed. Makoto rested his chin on the palm of his hand.

'It seems strange that Rin just wants to see you,' Makoto said, he paused for a moment, 'we all went to visit him earlier in the year, so it's funny how he is calling you over again,' Haru shrugged as he put some causal t-shirts into the case, 'are you sure you don't want me to come with you?'

'I'm fine,' Haru muttered, as ran a finger down the sheet of notepaper which listed everything he needed to pack. When Haru realised that everything was packed, he tossed the paper aside, a little bit too dramatically. Makoto gave his friend a concerned look.

'I am just worried...' he said, 'I mean, your English isn't that good, and you will be all on your own until you find Rin,' Makoto said as he expressed his worried for his friend. 

'I can handle myself, I am a grown man,' Haru snapped.

'I am just trying to help,' Makoto said, shocked by his friends aggressive response. Haru slumped on the bed beside Makoto. He looked over to his desk, where the letter was. Haru went over to picked it up. He gingerly opened the flap and read over Rin's words once more. He could hear Rin's tone as he read the bold words on the page. _'I have been missing you'_ , _'how about you come over when you get the time?_ ', _'I even managed to get hold of some cheap tickets for you'_.  ' _What an idiot'_ , Haru thought, as he continued to read the letter. Haru was always surprised with some of the things Rin managed to do, and randomly buying Haru a plane ticket to Australia in the middle of October was just another one of those things which made Haru curious of what was going on in that guy's mind. _  
_

'Rin said he just want to see me, so I will do that,' Haru said.

'You really would do all kinds of things for Rin, wouldn't you?' Makoto stated, giving his friend a weary smile. Haru felt his cheeks warm slightly.

'Not really,' he replied. He reached for a small blue backpack, 'Makoto, can you get my Japanese to English dictionary for me?'

'Sure,' he replied, standing up. Makoto then claimed the shiny book from the bookshelf and passed it to Haru, who then dropped it into the backpack, 'I ought to get going, I have an important test on muscle development after the weekend which I need to study for,' he said, looking down at his watch. Haru nodded as he packed a set of headphones in his bag.

'Ok, thank you for your help, Makoto,' Haru gave his friend a small smile.

'Yes, and I hope you have a good flight tomorrow,' Haru watched as the green-eyed young man shut the door behind him, leaving Haru to finish his packing.

* * *

 The man at passport control looked down at the passport in front of him, and then back up to the young man. Haru had recently had his passport updated, so the photo looked almost identical to the man stood in front of him, the only difference being the clothes they were wearing, and that Haru's eyes were rimmed from dark circles from the flight. The man gestured the passport in his hands.

'What is the purpose of your visit?' the man asked, in English. 

'Seeing friend,' Haru responded, Haru had practised this phrase on the plane. He kept on muttering this phrase over and over again until it stayed in his head, the woman next to him gave him strange looks as a result, but Haru knew he would have to try and muddle by with his poor English until he met up with Rin. The man nodded to the response and stamped the passport.

'Welcome to Australia, enjoy your stay,' the man said, he gave Haru a small smile as he slid the passport back across the desk. Haru was in Australia, even though it was his third time visiting, it always felt new and confusing. He wheeled his suitcase across the airport, Haru let out a sigh as he realised that he was going to have to wheel his way between crowds of tourists, he always hated crowds.

'Excuse me,' Haru called, as he passed through a group of American visitors. Haru decided to employ the tactics of 'Look down and get out as quickly as possible' when exiting the airport, as he just wanted to get out as quickly as possible. The tactics payed off, as Haru managed to make his way out of the airport in no time. As he did, he felt his body become warm. Haru should have remembered that it was nearly summer in Australia, Haru took off his blue hoodie and quickly stuffed it in his backpack before he continued to make his way forwards. Haru remembered where the sports centre was where Rin was training. Turn left at the cafe with the blue sign. That was the key direction he had taught himself. Turn left at the cafe with the blue sign. Haru repeated this phrase over and over again as he wheeled his case along the streets of Sydney. The sweltering heat meant that soon the case became heavy in his sweaty hands. Maybe he had gone wrong somewhere? Last time he came, it definitely did not take this long to get there. Haru began to panic, he didn't know who he could ask or what to do. He looked around, the area was unfamiliar, he was surrounded by strange buildings.

'Excuse me, are you lost young man?' a voice called from behind Haru. Haru spun himself around to see a middle aged woman smiling at the confused swimmer. Haru didn't quite understand the question.

'I... uh,' he said, stammering in confusion and fear. The woman seemed to be staring at Haru as she waited for a response, Haru's hands began to shake with fear as he was unable to give a response. 

'Need help?' the woman asked, rephrasing her question. Haru did understand this, so he gave a small nod.

'Swim university,' Haru said, worried that the woman wouldn't understand the response. Luckily, she did.

'Yes, keep walking straight and you will reach the park, then turn right and you should be there,' the woman said, making hand gestures to support her directions. Haru took it all in, he felt a wave of relief rush over him as he realised he wasn't as far off as he thought he was.

'Thank you,' he said, he then continued to stroll to get to his destination.

 

Haru loved the pool where Rin trained. The exterior was beautiful, Haru always took a moment to look at the glossy walls of the building, which reflected the light in a way which made the whole building look like it was made of water. After Haru took in the sight, he walked in. Haru pulled out Rin's letter and scanned his eyes over it in hope of finding any details of what to do now, _'I should be done and waiting in the refectory by the time you have arrived'._ 'Should be', Haru thought, Rin's own uncertainty rubbing off on Haru. All the same, Haru made his way to the cafeteria, still wheeling his heavy suitcase across the floor. Upon arrival in the cafeteria, Haru scanned the room for Rin, he tried to pick out Rin's red hair, which always stood out from the crowd. No luck. Despite all the swimmers in the room, none were Rin. Haru realised he was being approached by three swimmers. One male and two female, all wearing grey and purple tracksuits. Rin's team-mates. Maybe they could help.

'Need help?' the male swimmer asked, in English. 

'Y-yes,' Haru said in response. The tanned man folded his arms.

'Give me a hint then,' he responded. Haru didn't understand, so narrowed his eyes in confusion.

'I don't think he understands, James,' the taller of the two girls stated, 'Akane, can you try and talk to him?' the girl looked over to the other female swimmer who was, like Haru and Rin, Japanese.

'Sure,' Akane responded, she then began to talk to Haru in his native language, 'what do you need help with?' she said.

'I am looking for Matsuoka Rin,' Haru responded, Akane nodded her head and then turned back to her friends.

'Rin Matsuoka,' she said, 'he is looking for Rinny.'

'I think he had to stay late to speak with the coach,' James stated, spiking his short brown hair up with his hand, 'Ruby, can you go get him?' he asked the Australian girl. Ruby responded by nodding and leaving.

'Ruby is just going to get him as he had to see the coach before finishing,' Akane said to Haru in Japanese to translate the facts to him. Haru nodded. Typical, he knew that the 'should be' in the letter was going to be an omen. Haru casually flipped his dark hair, which had fallen into his eyes.

'Very hot here,' Haru said in English.

'Yeah, and it only gets hotter,' James added. The conversation came to a sudden stop as he heard a familiar voice boom across the room.

'Haru!' Haru snapped his head in the direction of the sound. Ruby had returned, with a man by her side wearing the same tracksuit. Rin.

 

James began to speak again as Rin joined the group.

'You got a friend here, Rinny,' he said, he then playfully pulled on the ponytail Rin's hair was tied in, which caused Rin to jolt his head back in shock.

'Yes,' Rin said, he then spoke in Japanese, 'Haru, these are my teammates James, Ruby and Akane.'

'Wait!' Ruby exclaimed, 'that is Haru, like the one you always talk about!' she said.

'Well he is like you described: clear blue eyes, swishy black hair and a cool expression,' Akane noted.

'Well yes, this is Haru,' Rin said, as he continued to communicate with his teammates. Haru couldn't understand most of the conversation, but he felt a warm relief that Rin seemed to get along so well with his team, Haru had also noted that even in a short few lines, that Rin's English was beginning to sound even more natural and fluent than it had done last time he had heard it.

'I wonder if Haru knows how much you fanboy over him,' James added.

'Shut up,' Rin said, Haru then intervened.

'What did he say, Rin?' Haru asked.

'Nothing important,' he responded.

'Rin talks about you so much, Haru the amazing swimmer who only swims free,' Akane translated to Haru. Rin's face turned the same colour as his hair in embarrassment. Haru gave Rin a smirk.

'I don't mind,' he said, trying to comfort his embarrassed friend. However, Haru was trying his best not to get in a blushing mess himself, as he was shocked that Rin was talking about him in such a positive manner.

'Fucking hell,' Rin muttered in English, he then switched back to Japanese, 'Haru, I have set up a camp-bed for you in my apartment to sleep on while you stay, we will go back to drop your case off, then we can go out together,' he said. Haru nodded to agree with Rin's proposal. Rin then switched back to English to relay the facts to his friends, 'we will be getting off now, see you.'

'Ok, see you Rin, and goodbye Haru,' Ruby said. Rin then approached Haru and led him out of the building.

 

'Need a hand with your case?' Rin asked as they left the building. Haru nodded. Rin then grabbed the case from Haru's hands. and dragged it outside. Upon getting outside, Rin removed his jacket and tied it around his waist, revealing the vest he wore underneath.

'It is very hot, and it isn't even the summer,' Haru said, as they walked along the street. Haru felt more comfortable when he was with Rin, he was fine on his own as Haru was able and independent enough to get around, but when he was Rin, he felt more relaxed, almost like was back in Iwatobi.

'I know, it takes a while to get used to,' Rin said, 'sorry I was late out of practice.'

'What happened?' Haru asked, Rin nervously scratched the back of his neck.

'Coach wanted to have a chat to me,' he said. Haru nodded.

'How is it going anyway?' he asked.

'Good, the chat was about possibility of tournaments, as I am in the team's top five for both mens freestyle and butterfly,' Rin added.

'That... is really good Rin,' Haru said, impressed by his rival's achievements. Rin flashed a toothy grin at Haru.

'I meant to tell you sooner, in a video call, but you are never on skype,' Rin said.

'I don't like cameras,' Haru replied, 'anyway, I do talk to you sometimes,' he protested.

'Whatever,' Rin muttered, 'anyway, how is it in Tokyo?'

'Good,' Haru replied. Rin anticpated expansion on Haru's answer, but there was none. _'He never changes'_ Rin thought to himself.

'We are nearly at my place,' Rin stated to break the awkward silence, 'after you unpack, do you want to go to the park?' Haru's lips twitched into a small smile, Rin hadn't changed either, he was as eager and firey as ever.

'Yes, that would be great.'


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rin and Haru spend their first evening in Australia together. The two catch up and Rin reveals his plans which he has in store for Haru. After going to Russell and Lori's for dinner, Haru finds him self unable to sleep and finds himself pleasuring himself while thinking about his relationship with Rin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here I am with the second chapter. This chapter does include some nsfw stuff (yaaaay), so I hope you like it. I am still feeling a bit low, but I am still trying my best to update as regularly as possible.

Haru and Rin walked to the park after they dropped Haru's luggage off at Rin's apartment. Haru had vividly remembered Rin's apartment from when he invited him and the Iwatobi team over earlier in the year. The pink walls, the cherry-blossom images, the photos of him, friends and family and the medals and trophies scattered on a set of drawers. It felt like it summed up Rin really well.

'Sorry my apartment is a bit of a mess,' Rin said, as they made their way back to the park, 'I haven't had time to tidy due to the upcoming tournament.'

'It's fine,' Haru said, 'you have worked hard on your apartment, haven't you?' Haru noted. Rin felt his cheeks warm a little after the compliment rung through his ears, the fact that someone as arty as Haru had complimented to interior of his home came as a huge shock.

'I... I guess I did,' Rin stated, 'I am flattered you feel that way,' he added, trying to hide his nerves. _Calm, Rin_ , he told himself. He then spoke again, 'you wait by the fountain, and I will go and get drinks.'

'Uh... yes,' Haru said, watching Rin leave. He took a seat at the fountain, he remembered sitting here with Rin before. It was the time when Rin told Haru how he admired him, the memory was always one which Haru would treasure, the fact that Rin thought of him in such a way always made him tingle with happiness. Continuing to wait, Haru dipped his hands in the water of the fountain, the moment the cool blue water made contact with his hands, he felt relief as the cold of the water cut through the humidity of the air around him. Haru looked around him. Living in Toyko meant that Haru had begun to come a lot more accustomed to busy areas and crowds, even though Rin was out of sight and the area around him  was pretty packed, he didn't feel scared or phased at all. Maybe Rin would notice the change. No, he probably wouldn't, Haru then became confused at why that thought had even passed through his mind in the first place. Why would he want Rin to care so much? Attempting to distract his mind from that line of thought, Haru tried to look out for Rin _'how long does it take for someone to get drinks?'_.

 

'Oiy, Haru,' Haru looked up, to see Rin, who was now sporting a pair of aviator sunglasses, was stood in front of him again. Haru thought the sunglasses looked good on Rin, the fact they were teamed with his tank top and ponytail made Rin look he was ready for the summer to arrive at any moment. He threw Haru a bottle of water, which the blue eyed teenager caught perfectly.

'Thanks,' Haru said, as he watched Rin sit next to him. Rin opened his can of cola with a single finger, Haru watched, confused and fascinated at how he did it.

'That was a trick Sousuke taught me when we were kids,' Rin stated, as he went to take a swig from the can. Haru threw Rin a pouty expression.

'Why did you randomly ask me to come over so suddenly? I have training to do as well,' Haru demanded.

'I thought you said you had a weeks break, last time you emailed,' Rin replied, playing with the metal tab of his can with his fingers. Haru watched Rin, Haru couldn't tell where Rin ws directing his gaze due to the mirrored lenses of his sunglasses.

'I do,' Haru responded, 'the coach still likes us to do some training even during a week off,' Haru added. Rin clicked his tongue.

'Seems funny for you to randomly get a week off, what happened?' Rin asked. Haru let out a sigh and darted his blue eyes to the ground.

'the whole team has the week off as a reward for doing well in a recent competition,' Haru admitted, 'I was part of the success, I got first in my freestyle race and third in the medly relay,' Haru added. Rin removed his sunglasses and shoved them back in his pocket, he then gazed at Haru, who was still looking at the floor.

'That is amazing,' Rin said, 'I am glad you are working hard,' he added. He took another sip from his coke, 'why didn't you tell me earlier? This is why you need to talk to me more,' Rin complained. Haru turned his head back to Rin.

'I do talk to you, I send you plenty of emails, and I skyped you a couple of weeks ago,' Haru then took a sip from his water bottle, 'anyway, I suppose taking a few days off won't kill me,' Haru muttered. Rin slipped his sunglasses back on.

'I'm just saying it would be nice,' Rin said, running a hand through his loose fringe, 'anyway,' he said, turning to face Haru, 'we need to get going, as we have somewhere to go later,' he added, standing up. Haru nodded and stood up with him.

 

Rin dragged Haru into a newsagents.

'Why are we going in here?' Haru asked, confused. 

'I need to buy something which should be on sale,' Rin said, rushing towards the shelf with the newspapers. As he did so, Haru wandered towards the magazines, just to see if there was anything interesting.

'Nice t-shirt mate,' a voice called. Haru turned his head, he saw a man about his age looking at Haru's t-shirt. Haru gestured a finger at the blue dolphin silhouette motif on the fitted black top.

'Uh... thanks,' Haru replied, giving the strange man a small smile. Haru then glanced over to the counter, where Rin was paying for a magazine, when the cashier went to get Rin's change, he mouthed 'go to the door' to Haru, who responded by nodding and doing as instructed. Moments later, Rin joined Haru.

'There,' Rin said, flipping through the magazine. Rin then presented Haru with a page. Haru could not understand what the article on the page was about, as it was all in English. However, there was a large photo of a group of young people stood by a pool, it took no time for Haru to pick out one familiar man in a police officer's outfit, it was Rin.

'That is you,' Haru noted, passing the paper back to Rin, who nervously scratched the back of his neck with his free hand.

'Yep, we did a charity swim thing a week or so ago, we all had to do silly races and fancy dress, there was media coverage and it was a good day,' he added.

'I saw the photos on twitter,' Haru stated, 'you said something about a ten-a-team relay, which you won.'

'So you do go on twitter?' Rin said, smirking at Haru, who responded by blushing and looking away.

'I guess I check it occasionally,' Haru stated. Rin looked down at his watch.

'Is that the time already?' Rin said, upon noticing it was already 6pm, 'we need to get a move on Haru,' Haru folded his arms and rose an eyebrow.

'Yeah, maybe you shouldn't have spent so long talking with your coach after practice,' Haru noted.

'Hey! I was discussing plans for tomorrow, which will benefit you, idiot!' Rin snapped, Haru became curious.

'What plans?' he inquired. Rin gave no response,  _'why the fuck did I say that, it was meant to be a surprise?'_. Haru tilted his head, 'come on Rin, you started telling me, so you can't not tell me now,' Rin let out a low groan, he wasn't going to get out of it.

'Fine,' he said, caving in to Haru's demands, 'I told a white lie, I was talking to the coach about the tournament, but I also have managed to persuade him to let you join in our teams practice sessions while you are here,' Rin confessed.

'Rin...' Haru said, he found himself a little lost for words, Rin had managed to go through the effort of getting his coach to let him, who had no right to swim with Rin's team, attend their practices, 'that is great,' he added, trying his best to hide the feeling of joy which he felt rise through his body. He was going to be swimming with Rin. He could imagine how everyone would them swim, Rin proudly telling everyone to watch.

'Yeah, it took a bit of effort, as coach doesn't like non team members joining in, but I managed to get him to agree,' Rin said. Rin was downplaying the truth, he didn't want to tell Haru how he told Coach Brown how Haru was 'the most amazing swimmer ever' and how 'he would feel fired up and invigorated from just watching him swim' and especially not the comment of 'it would be an honour for the team to have Haru swim with them'. No, Rin didn't want to tell Haru those bits.

'I see,' Haru responded. There was then silence between them. Rin stretched his arms in the air.

'Anyway,' he said, swiftly changing the subject, 'we need to get moving, as Russell and Lori will be waiting.'

'Russell and Lori?' Haru repeated, confused. 

'Yeah,' Rin dropped his arms back to his sides, 'we are going there for dinner, since I'm sure they will be happy to hear how you are doing.'

* * *

'It is so nice of you to visit, Rin!' Lori said, as she opened the door to Rin and Haru.

'It's good to see you too, Haru,' Russell added. Haru gave the couple a small smile.

'Nice to see you again,' he said, speaking slowly in hope that the couple would understand his English. Haru and Rin then entered the house. As they did, Winnie rushed up to Rin, who grabbed the dog in his arms.

'Who's a good boy?' Rin said, as the dog licked his face. Haru glanced at this sight, Rin with a childish grin on his face with a dog slobbering at him. It was weird, and cute. 

'You came over at the perfect time, as dinner is almost done,' Lori called from the kitchen.

'It is meat, potatoes and vegetables tonight, if that is ok with Haru,' Russell added.

'did you get that, Haru?' Rin asked Haru in Japanese. Haru let out a deep sigh.

'I don't like meat,' he muttered, in Japanese, Rin folded his arms.

'You need to eat more meat, surely your coach has told you that you need a balanced diet,' Rin informed Haru, who's facial expression was one of mild annoyance.

'Just because he says that, it does mean I listen,' he said. Giving Haru a concerned look, Rin spoke again.

'Look, it will be fine. If you keep living of fish and rice, you will never get a "perfect body",' Rin said in a stern voice. However, when he switched to English to say 'perfect body', Haru let out a snort. Rin then switched back to English, 'Haru said it will be great,' Rin called. Haru threw Rin an annoyed look, as he understood what he said.

'You really can be a dick, sometimes,' he stated, Rin looked offended for a moment, before giving Haru another one of his concerned and intense looks, the red eyes gazing directly at him.

'I am doing to help you though.'

 

Before the conversation could continue, Rin's old homestay parents came out with the dinner, Rin gave the couple a huge smile, 'it looks delicious,' Rin said, as he took his plate.

'Thank you,' Haru said. Haru glanced out of the corner of his eyes, to catch Rin, who was already eating his food in a ravenous manner, he watched the man chomp down the meat, forkful at a time.

'You have always been an enthusiastic eater,' Russell noted, who then looked over to Haru, who was eating his food in a much more dainty manner, 'how have you been, Haru?' he asked. Haru looked up from his food.

'Good...' he said, 'I am working hard at swimming in Tokyo,' he added, before eating a mouthful of food. Despite his initial moaning, the dinner wasn't as bad as he thought it would be, in fact it was rather tasty. The meat was not too chewy and the potatoes were lovely and crisp. Lori gave a small nod.

'That sounds great, Haru,' she said, 'also, your English has improved since you last came to see us,' Haru didn't understand parts of the last statement, he nudged Rin for a translation. Rin then spoke in Japanese.

'She said your English has gotten better,' he said. Haru smiled humbly to himself before giving a response.

'Coach has told me to work on it, for future,' Haru replied, in English, Rin stepped in.

'he means that when he swims in big competitions, he will need to speak in English for some interviews, so his coach told him to brush up on it,' Rin said, deciphering his friends shaky statement. 

'Of course, you are both aiming for the top, aren't you?' Russell said.

'Mmhmm,' Rin replied, taking a sip from his glass of juice.

'You always did say you wanted to make it to the top with Haru, and it looks like that will happen,' Lori added. 

'What did she say?' Haru asked Rin.

'Nothing important,' Rin replied, Haru rose an eyebrow.

'Right,' he said, while observing that Rin's cheeks had pinkened a little. 

'Rin, you are also looking so mature and grown up,' Lori said, Rin smiled.

'I am?' he said, he wondered if he really did for a moment. _'I wonder if Haru thinks that too?'_ he asked himself, before his line of thought was stopped by Russell.

'We heard about the tournament a few months ago, I heard your medley relay team got first,' he said, 'I am glad that your swimming is going so well.'

'Yes, it is hard work but very good,' Rin replied, 'you should see Haru swim, he is truly amazing and motivates me while I am in Australia as I know he will be in Japan working hard as well,' Rin said. Russell and Lori looked at each other and smiled.

'Did you get that Haru?' Russell asked. Haru, who had phased out a little, shook his head.

'Tell him what you just said Rin, it was a really nice compliment,' Lori said. Rin's face turned scarlet.

'No, no, I am alright,' he replied.

'Well ok then, it is nothing to be embarrassed about,' Lori added. Rin looked over to Haru, who was finishing his food.

'When we have done eating, we will need to get back,' Rin said, 'thank you for letting us stay for tea, Russell and Lori,' he said.

'It's a pleasure,' Russell said.

'Thanks, the food is very good,' Haru muttered, as he went to get a napkin to wipe his face with.

* * *

Haru had trouble sleeping that night. Maybe it was the fact that the camp-bed Rin had set up wasn't exactly comfortable. The mattress was thin and the bed screeched whenever Haru moved a single muscle. Rin was already fast asleep. Rin was led facing in the same direction of the camp-bed where Haru was, which had been placed next to his own bed. Haru could see Rin's sleepy face. When Rin was sleeping, he looked so different, relaxed. Usually Rin's face was firey and full of passion, but now his face was soft and emotionless, his eyes gently closed. He looked like he was a kid again, Haru didn't know whether it was the way he grabbed his sheets over his body or the way his hair had been softly mussed up, but he looked so gentle and innocent. Haru could look at it all night. Haru began to feel his cock grow tight in his boxers as he continued to look at Rin's sleepy face, _'why is this happening?'_ he thought to himself. He didn't want to have an embarrassing incident in a bed which wasn't his, and what if Rin woke up suddenly. Haru tried to close his eyes to wash away the picture of Rin's face, but he failed, the moment he shut his eyes, thoughts of how much he always wanted to see Rin flushed through his mind.  _Fuck_. Why was this even happening, he was not getting a boner over Rin Matsuoka. Haru put a hand on the crotch of his boxers, a small wet patch had already formed, he was going to have to feed his desire. Haru carefully whipped his boxers off, letting his already erect penis spring out. Haru looked at Rin as he rubbed the precum over the tip of his cock. He could not believe he was doing this. He then began to slowly rub his hand up and down the length of the cock. His eyes on Rin. _Rin_. He thought. He thoughts of Rin passed through his mind. Rin's face, Rin's smile, Rin's hair, Rin's eyes, Rin's body. He imagined how Rin would look in the changing rooms after their practice the next day, his muscles shining from the droplets of water which clung to them, his hair damp and wild and his breathing slow and heavy from where he was still exhausted from the swim. Haru's hand was moving faster now, he let out a small moan, as he continued to do this action. Pleasure. That was what he was feeling.

'Rin,' he quietly moaned. Haru thought of how Rin made him so fired up, from the first time they met, and how they would stand side by side on an Olympic stadium one day, proud that he helped Rin reach his goal, 'Rin,' he moaned again, keeping an eye on Rin's sleeping body in case he stirred. Haru felt himself reach a climax, his  was cock long, warm and hard. Haru felt his body tingle a little as he imagined what it would be like if it was Rin's hand rather than his own. His grip would be firm, he would be playful but still gentle. Haru let out a moan as he came on his stomach, the split second of pleasure followed by relief. He then led still, breathing heavily. He carefully stood up and made his way to the bathroom to clean himself up.

 

Haru ran the tap to dampen the flannel his had brought with him. What had he just been doing? Why was he masturbating while moaning Rin's name? It was all confusing, he was probably just very tired. His feelings about Rin had always confused him, he had admired his determination and was fascinated by Rin from the start. Haru began to wipe the mess from his stomach. He knew Rin admired him, Haru didn't know how to feel, Rin's admiration for Haru had always phased him a little, he didn't know why but he found it interesting, and it almost made him happy and bashful that Rin held him in such a way. Haru rinsed the dirty cloth before hanging it to dry. He made his way back to his bed so he could at least get some sleep for the next day.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rin takes Haru to a swim practice with his team. Haru learns of the reputation he has gained amongst his team through Rin's words alone, and there is a mixup in a coffee shop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is here, this is another fluffy one, as opposed to the last one. I am not very sure about the writing of this chapter, it might be fine but to me it seems a bit off and I can't fix it, as this chapter was a bit of a pain to write, and it did end up dragging on longer than I wanted, but I couldn't find a good place to stop it. but I am hoping the next chapter will be a bit easier for me to complete.

'Isn't it going to rain later?' Rin asked Haru, as he pulled his tracksuit jacket on. Haru replied with a shrug, as he put on his own blue and white team jacket, 'funny for you to bring your own team jacket,' Rin noted.

'I am still representing them even when I am here,' Haru stated, as he picked up the small sports bag which contained all the gear he would need for the pool, 'anyway, I don't think it will rain.'

'Should we take an umbrella in case?' Rin asked, as he picked up he own sports bag

'No, we will be fine,' he said, 'also, you better not have bigged me up to much to your coach, as you know how I crack under pressure,' Haru warned, making reference to the disastrous freestyle regional race when he stopped swimming in the middle of the race. Rin ran a hand through his hair, which he wore loose today, and sighed.

'Don't worry, I haven't,' he said, he then let out a deep sigh, 'anyway, you have changed a lot since then, as back then you never thought you would end up swimming professionally,' Haru's expression hardened.

'I still don't like pressure though,' he stated, folding his arms across his chest. Rin knew he wasn't going to win this one, so he knew the best thing would be to drop the subject. 

'Anyway, we should make our way to the pool soon, as we don't want to be late,' Rin said, slinging his bag over his shoulder. Haru followed suit with his own bag.

'Yes, that would be good, and thank you for sorting this out for me,' Haru added, as he watched Rin unlock the door. Rin looked back to Haru.

'It's no problem, I just wanted to make these couple of days good for you, that is all.'

* * *

Rin escorted Haru to the cafeteria before practice, they had arrived a little too early (Haru blamed Rin's enthusiasm to get them out of the door so quickly) and Rin told Haru it was almost a tradition to meet up with the rest of the team in the cafeteria. When they entered the room, there were already a number of grey and purple clad swimmers milling around.

'Rinny!' James called while waving his hands. James, Ruby, Akane and a few other swimmers were gathered around a table eating what appeared to be their breakfast. Rin made his way over to the group and Haru followed, he knew that following Rin would be the best plan of action for now.

'Good morning,' Rin said, in English.

'Good morning,' Haru repeated. Akane gestured a finger towards Haru.

'That tracksuit... the biggest swimming university in Toyko wear those colours!' she exclaimed in English. Haru tilted his head as he didn't understand the statement. Akane realised and repeated her sentence in Japanese, which Haru understood perfectly.

'You need to stop forgetting that Haru's English isn't so good,' Ruby said, as pinned her long blonde hair into a bun.

'Yes it is, I swim there,' Haru said in response to Akane's question, in English. James began to rub his chin in confusion.

'What is Haru doing here today, in his swim tracksuit with a sports bag? I don't think the coach will let a non team member swim in our training sessions,' he wondered, this caused Rin to smirk.

'I didn't tell you did I?' he said in a cocky tone, 'I managed to persuade coach to make an exception to the rule,' he said. Ruby looked up from her bowl of cereal.

'That is amazing, you must have really bigged Haru up to get old Brown to change his mind,' Rin nervously scratched the back of his neck, Haru knew he did this a lot and thought it was a very cute habit.

'Not really,' he replied. Haru then piped up.

'Rin, what are you talking about?' Haru asked Rin, who was caught off guard by the question.

'Nothing important, just about the training regimen,' he replied in Japanese. As he gave this response, Akane rose an eyebrow to indicate that she knew Rin was lying, but she didn't call him out on it.

'Have you two already had breakfast?' James asked, gesturing towards the couple while holding the breakfast bar he was eating.

'Yep, Haru made us mackerel,' Rin replied.

'Of course, you always told us that Haru loved eating mackerel, and how when he cooked it that it tasted really spicy and flavoursome,' Ruby said. Rin was really hoping that Haru's English was picking up as little of this conversation as possible, Rin would find it embarrassing for Haru to know how much he spoke about him. Rin switched back to Japanese.

'Haru, do you want to go down to the changing rooms now, as if we get changed early we will have time to introduce you to the coach,' Rin said, Haru gave a hasty nod. Rin turned back to his teammates and switched back to English, 'ok, we are going to get changed now, see you in a bit.'

 

Changed into swimsuits, Haru and Rin made their way to the poolside, as they did a man with a whistle approached them.

'Rin, you are nice and early,' he said, greeting the swimmer, the man then noticed Haru, whose blue eyes were currently fixated on the clear blue water of the pool, 'and is this the Haru you told me about?' he asked. 

'Yes, it is,' Rin replied, Rin then gently tapped Haru's shoulder, 'Haru, this is Coach Brown.'

'Nice to meet you, pool is nice,' Haru said. Haru truly did did love the pool, the whole area was so grand and atmospheric, he could tell this place had been used for tournaments as the pool was lined by bleachers, he could almost imagine an international audience cheering them on as he stood by the pool.

'So, Haru,' the coach said, speaking slowly to make it easier for Haru to understand him, 'Rin has told me lots of great things about you, I don't usually let outsiders swim with us, but Rin has assured me that your swimming is something I have to see,' he said.  _'great, so the idiot has built up some glorious image, thank you for the pressure Rin Matsuoka,'_ Haru thought to himself, he began to give Rin a burning glare as a means to inform Rin of his annoyance.

'Did he?' Haru replied, concealing his annoyance. Coach Brown then looked down at a clipboard.

'Yep, so I really do hope you can deliver,' he said in a slow and stern tone, Haru could tell that Brown was good with talking to people with limited English, as he spoke in such a tone that Haru understood everything he said perfectly, 'but I do understand that our team may have a harder regimen than the one your team has, so if you feel you are unable to keep up with it or if you feel tired, feel free to take a break or even drop out at any time,' he said, giving Haru a reassuring smile.

'Ok, thanks,' Haru replied. Haru jabbed Rin in the ribs.

'Ouch,' he hissed.

'Thank you for giving me such a reputation,' Haru said, his tone sarcastic.

'But you are an amazing swimmer and an inspiration,' Rin replied in a defensive tone, 'anyway, you should be thankful as if I didn't you wouldn't be allowed to swim here,' he added. Rin did make a good point, despite his external annoyance, Haru was truly thankful that Rin had managed to twist some strings to get him this chance, in fact Haru's heart was already racing from excitement. Although Coach Brown's information about being to take breaks or drop out if he struggled was a nice safety net and did take some of the pressure off Haru, he was determined to ensure that it was going to come to that.

 

'You all need to see Haru swim,' Rin said, after the coach had briefed the team on the days training, 'we should all wait until he has swum,' his teammates then nodded. Haru was already stood on the dive-block, adjusting his goggles and swim cap so he was ready to dive in. Haru glanced from the corner of his eye to catch sight of the group of swimmers, lead by Rin all looking in his direction  _'no pressure then'_ Haru thought to himself. He launched himself into the pool.

'That was was so clean,' Akane pointed out, the team then watched as Haru pulled himself through the water, swimming freestyle. His strokes were gentle and effortless as he was just warming up, Rin felt a lump in his throat: Haru's swimming had improved, his strokes had become even more perfect and effortless since he had last seen him swim, and watching him warm up gave him a desire to swim next to him. Haru stopped when he reached the end of the pool, Coach Brown approached him.

'So it is true, you really are a great swimmer,' he said. Haru looked away. At this point, the rest of the team had started to get in the pool and do their own warm-ups. Rin took place in the lane next to Haru.

'What did I tell you about that people would love your swimming?' Rin said, as he pulled back the strap of his goggles, 'I will race you after we have done the warm-ups and stroke training,' he added, as he let go of his goggle strap so it snapped back to his head.

'That would be great,' Haru said, watching Rin dive in and begin to swim. Haru had already seen the training regimen, it was quite different to his own team's one as it had more focus on developing the efficiency and power of the swimmers' swim strokes as opposed to his own which focused more on building stamina. Haru watched Rin do his warm-up, he had improved so much, he was already ahead of swimmers which had dived in before him, his strokes were more even than before and his breathing seemed more relaxed which meant he was wasting less breath on taking unnecessarily deep breaths. When Rin finished the warm-up, the coach approached him with advice. Haru couldn't understand the conversation, and he didn't feel like he needed to. He just decided to start working on the regimen he had been set. Some swimmers were still on the poolside, and they were watching him, they were talking as they watched the swimmer swim up and down the pool. Haru didn't understand the English they were speaking in, and he wondered what they were talking about. Were they bitching about the fact that he is swimming with them? Were they criticising him? Were they complimenting him? It didn't really matter what they were saying, but Haru was still curious all the same. Haru snapped out of the line of thought and went back to swimming, pushing himself off the wall again to do another length. Even though the regimen was hard and wasn't particularly enjoyable for him, he knew that at the end of it all, he would get to race with Rin which was enough motivation for him to get through it.

 

At about 1pm, the team took a lunch break. Rin led Haru back to the cafeteria, they didn't get changed or dried properly, as they would have to return to training after the break. They then both took a table together.

'So, how was the morning session then?' Rin asked. Haru took a bite from the sandwich he bought.

'Different,' he replied. Rin rose an eyebrow.

'Different?' he replied.  _'you really never change, do you?'_ he thought to himself, upon hearing Haru's vague response. Haru shrugged his shoulders.

'Just different to my usual training regimen,' he said. Rin let out a sigh, he knew he wasn't going to get anything else out of him so he gave up.

'anyway, we should have a race when we go back,' he said, wiping crumbs from his cereal bar off his face with his sleeve,  _'cute'_ Haru thought, as he observed him do so.

'Yes, that will be good, as it has been so long since we have raced,' he said, finishing off his food, 'are you done?' Haru asked. Rin responded by devouring the rest of his food in one mouthful.

'Mhhmm,' he mumbled with a mouthful of food, Haru let out a snort at the sight of Rin's crammed mouth. It made him look silly, yet adorable at the same time. He swallowed, 'yep, I will you show you a sight you have never seen before in this race.'

 

'Rin and Haru are racing!' Ruby exclaimed, approaching the other teammates on the poolside. They all turned to see that Rin and Haru were indeed stood on starting blocks, and Coach Brown had a whistle. Upon noticing, everyone focused their attention on the couple, excited and interested to see how the outcome would turn out.

'On your marks,' The Coach called, the two then braced themselves on the block. The whistle was blown.

'Their dives were in sync!' one of the male swimmers observed. The two swimmers had now both began to swim, they pulled themselves through the water, they were neck and neck. 

'They are both so fast, it's amazing!' Akane called, 'I swear Rin is faster than usual, he is going to break his personal record,' she noted. They made their turn. Haru felt his heart pumped as he swam. This was a taste of his future, a future where he could swim with Rin and other international-level swimmers  as a career. Rin also felt the same, the fact that Haru was swimming next to him drove him to swim faster than ever. Neither one were appearing to give way. They hit the wall and the results flashed on the board. Haru had won by 0.01 seconds, and Rin had achieved a new personal best. The team all began to clap as Haru and Rin stood up and removed their goggles and cap, they both took a moment to look up at the results as they caught their breath.

'Haru really is as amazing as Rin told us!' a swimmer from the side called. Haru flipped his hair and then turned to Rin's lane, Rin had a hand in the air, indicating that he wanted a high five. 

'That was a great race, you really have become more fired up,' Rin said, as their wet hands smacked together.

'Yes, that was great,' Haru replied, trying his best to conceal the fact that due to the race his whole body was buzzing and his heart was still racing. Coach Brown blew into his whistle, the sharp sound instantly silencing the entire pool.

'Ok team, time to get on with training,' he said, causing the team to get ready for another swim. Coach Brown approached Haru and Rin, 'that was a great job by both of you, especially you Haru, I can see why Rin admires you so much,' he said, speaking slowly so Haru understood him.

'Admires me?' Haru questioned, Rin then piped up.

'No, no, I don't admire him that much, I just think he is a good swimmer,' Rin said in a flustered tone. 

'Anyway, I hear you still have another day here,' Coach Brown said.

'I am here all of tomorrow and my plane is morning after,' Haru said in English. The Coach nodded.

'I see, well we would love you to join in with tomorrow's session as well,' Coach Brown said.

'Haru would love that,' Rin responded, Haru gave a small nod to indicate agreement, of course Haru would have no objections to being able to swim. 

'Well anyway, you two should go back to training, good luck,' Coach Brown said, before turning his back on the couple.

* * *

 It was raining. It wasn't just light rain either, it was the sort of rain which you could hear from indoors, the sort of rain which left you soaked through from being out in it for just a matter of minutes. 

'Fuck,' Rin said, as opened the door, as he opened the door, droplets of water blew in, splashing his and Haru's face. They had just finished getting changed and were going to leave, but the rain was giving Rin second thoughts, 'I thought you said it wasn't going to rain, Haru?' Rin snapped. Haru turned his head away.

'How was I supposed to know?' Haru muttered, 'it doesn't matter anyway,' Rin frowned.

'Doesn't matter?' he snapped, 'I didn't bring an umbrella, we will get soaked if we go out in that,' the wind howled as the rain continued to fall, the floor becoming damper and puddles becoming bigger, 'maybe we should wait until it stops,' Rin said. Haru shook his head.

'It's late, we need to go,' Haru protested, 'anyway, we are already still a little wet, so it won't do any harm,' he added.

'Fine, whatever,' Rin muttered, he then opened the door fully, the moment they stepped outside they were met with wind and rain, as horrible as it was, they took their only option: which was to get out of it as quickly as possible but getting home as quickly as possible.

 

‘Why are we stopping here?’ Haru asked, upon noticed that Rin had dragged them both into a coffee shop.

‘It is raining too much, just look at you, you are shivering,’ Rin said. Haru was indeed shivering to the point where his teeth were chattering. They were both soaked through. Rin ran a hand through his hair, which was so dripping wet that it had caused a wet patch on his shoulders and back to be formed. Rin then found them a table to sit at. Haru looked at the menu, he didn’t know what to order as he wasn’t used to fancy coffee shops.

‘I…I… don’t kn..know what to have,’ Haru said, stuttering slightly from where he was so cold. Rin let out a sigh as he put his own menu down.

‘Maybe if your hair wasn’t in your eyes it would help,’ Rin replied, noting how Haru’s soaking wet bangs completely covered his eyes from where it was so wet. Haru responded by pushing it out of his face so his blue eyes were visible again, Rin thought Haru’s eyes really were a pretty colour, he liked a lot of things about Haru but he thought that the clear blue eyes were one of his finest features, ‘sometimes I wonder how the heck you can see properly with your fringe that long,’ Rin muttered.

‘I can see fine, actually,’ Haru informed, as he continued to scan his eyes over the menu.

‘Well I guess that is fine then,’ Rin said, _‘anyway, I think your hair looks great and your little hair flip is so cute, so you shouldn’t change that’_ Rin thought to himself, ‘anyway, I am getting a tall black coffee,’ Rin said. Haru then put his menu down.

‘I will have a small cappuccino then, but I don’t see why we are stopping here,’ Haru said. This caused Rin to fold his arms.

‘You are absolutely soaked and frozen,’ he said in a stern tone, ‘also, you should take your jacket off, it is so wet it is sticking to you, and I’m going to make the order,’ Rin said. Haru took off his jacket as requesting, he was only wearing a thin t-shirt underneath but it did feel good to have the soaking jacket off.

 

‘A tall Americano and a small Cappuccino,’ Rin ordered.

‘What are your names?’ the woman serving asked.

‘Haru and Rin,’ Rin replied. The woman nodded.

‘Ok, your order will be done soon,’ Rin then paid the money and waiting by the counter for the names to be called out. The rain had softened, it was now just gentle drizzle and the sun was beginning to peek out, causing a small rainbow in the distance. It was unusual for heavy rain at this time of year, but most people found it a relief as Australian weather could be so brutally hot. ‘Haru and Rin,’ a name called. Rin approached the counter to pick up the coffee’s and went back to the table. As the placed them down, he realised a mistake.

‘Shit, they mixed our names up,’ he said, noting that his Americano did indeed have ‘Haru’ scrawled in black marker on the cup. Haru shrugged.

‘It doesn’t matter, it’s just coffee,’ Haru said, as he took a sip from his ‘Rin’ cup. Rin bit his lip, he felt there was something awkward about drinking from a cup with Haru’s name written on it, but he wasn’t sure what.

‘Yep… I guess its fine,’ Rin said.

‘It’s stopped raining, can we drink these on our way back?’ Haru asked, taking another sip from the coffee, which Haru was enjoying due to the fact it was so creamy. Rin took another sip from his bitter coffee. ‘Yes, as we don’t want to be out too late,’ Rin replied. Rin then noticed a group of girls from the swim team were sat a couple of tables over, eating chocolate sponge cakes, they were staring at Rin and Haru.

‘How cute,’ one said, ‘they are drinking coffee from cups with each other’s names on, isn’t that what couples do?’ the girl said. Upon hearing this, Rin’s face turned red from embarrassment _‘shutupshutupshutup’_ he thought to himself, as he tried his best to block out their conversation.

‘Rin?’ Haru said, ‘why are you red all of a sudden? I thought you said we were leaving?’ he said, Rin took a deep breath in to calm himself. Deep breath in. Slow breath out. Relax.

‘Yes, of course.’


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rin says he is going out for a jog before bed and Haru insists on coming along. As they jog, Rin suggests they go to the pool for a late night swim and a 'rematch' for the race earlier that day, after the race, they cannot hold their true feelings back any more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is going to be fluffy again, I do have some more smut planned soon though so don't worry. I know everything has happened quite quickly in this fic, as I want the rest of the fic to focus on their relationship, both long distance and when they are together. So enjoy, also please feel free to leave comments, as I really appreciate seeing people's thoughts/opinions/reactions to what I have written.

Haru finished up his ramen which Rin had cooked him for dinner. As he wiped his face, he thought about how nice it was to have some cuisine he was use to. It wasn't mackerel, but the noodles did remind him a little of home. Rin had already finished eating and had disappeared to his room, not saying why. Haru let out a sigh as he saw that Rin had left his bowl on the table, causing Haru to pick it up and take both his and Rin's bowl's to the sink so they could be washed. Haru hated it when people left dirty cutlery and crockery around, as it always made him feel slightly uncomfortable when he looked at it. _'so tired'_ Haru thought, as he yawned loudly. Thinking about how tired he was caused him to make his way to their room. Even though the camp-bed was horribly uncomfortable, he wanted to at least try to get an early night in before tomorrow. He lazily opened the bedroom door, as he did so, his eyes widened a little in shock. Rin was stood there shirtless, only wearing a pair of running shorts.

'Oh, Haru,' Rin said, as Haru wandered into the room. Haru looked at Rin, he tilted his head in confusion.

'What are you doing Rin? It's 10 o'clock,' Haru asked, watching Rin put his black and yellow jogging shirt on.

'I am going for a jog before bed,' he said. Haru continued to watch Rin, he watched as the young man held his hair up as he reached over to his desk to get a hairtie.

'Really? I just want to go to bed,' Haru muttered.

'Well,' Rin said, as he tied his red hair in to a ponytail so it was up off his neck, Haru observed Rin doing so  _'he looks so handsome with his hair up,'_ he thought to himself, 'I'm not saying you have to come or anything.'

'I will come,' Haru replied, as even though he was tired and wanted to sleep, something inside him made him feel like he wanted to go out and jog beside Rin even more so. 

'Well you best hurry up and get changed,' Rin stated, as he slid a pair of fingerless gloves on, 'I will wait,' Rin said, as he exited the room to leave Haru to get changed.

* * *

'Did I keep you waiting?' Haru asked, as Rin opened locked the front door behind them. Haru looked around as Rin did so, it was late but their were still cars on the road and lights from buildings meant that everything was still visible in the night sky.

'Not really, you were pretty quick,' Rin said. He then started to jog along the path, Haru then followed, focusing his attention on staying right beside Rin. Rin was a fast jogger, his legs pumped up and down at a pace, Haru found himself struggling to keep up already.

'Can you slow down a little?' Haru requested. Rin then did as requested, he dropped back so he was right next to Haru, Rin turned his face and smirked.

'I never thought I would have to slow down for you,' he teased. Haru turned his head away.

'I am just not a very fast runner,' Haru muttered, he turned his face back to Rin, 'anyway, I beat you in that race earlier,' Haru added, smugly.

'By 0.01 seconds,' he said, pouting slightly, the couple then turned a corner, 'anyway, the pressure of everyone watching was kind of off-putting,' Rin's excuse made Haru let out a sigh.

'Where are we going, Rin?' Haru asked, they had already jogged quite a distance, and they were only going to go further. Haru's shirt was already starting to stick to him a little and he felt his face grow warm and his hair became a little sweaty. Rin continued to jog beside Haru, adapting his pace so he didn't rush ahead by accident. He then spoke, his voice a little slow from where he was beginning to become out of breath as well.

'Dunno, we go where we go,' Rin replied. He then took a sip from the pink water bottle he was carrying, after doing so, he held it out to Haru, still jogging along while doing so, 'want some?' 

'I'm fine,' Haru replied. Rin was taking this as answer, he gave Haru a concerned look and thrusted the bottle into Haru's hands.

'No, I don't want you to get dehydrated, so have a drink,' he insisted. Haru threw Rin an irritated look as he took a glug of water from the bottle, and passed it back to Rin.

'Happy?' he asked, Rin let out a giggle.

'That was an indirect kiss,' he noted.

'Shut... up,' Haru replied, he felt his face grow warmer upon this realisation _'shit, that really an indirect kiss, what does it mean and why did he have to point it out?'_ Haru thought to himself. They then continued to jog along.

 

After they had been jogging for about twenty minutes, Haru realised they were in familiar territory, they were jogging through the park, which was completely dead, except a group of drunk teenagers who were sprawled on the grass drinking cider. Rin then directed them right, and they ended up outside the swimming pool. Rin stopped and leant forward to catch his breath. Haru thought the building looked even more beautiful in the night, the moonlight reflecting off the tiled wall, the stars in the sky made the building look like it was made from starlight. Haru's blue eyes glimmered at the sight of the beautiful building.

'We are back here tomorrow,' Rin stated, 'are you looking forward to spending another session with us?' he asked. Haru nodded, still staring the beautiful building.

'Yes,' he replied, he was going to miss going back to Japan, tomorrow was his last full day and he would be on a plane the morning after. He felt a lump form in his throat, he was going to miss Rin so much, this visit had made him truly realise how much he loved having Rin by his side. Rin was now stood upright again.

'Hey, how about we go for a late night swim?' he asked. Haru's lips twitched into a smile, he was never going to reject the chance to swim.

'I would love to,' Haru replied, he then noticed that pool looked pretty shut up, the lights were off and there appeared to be nobody in there, 'but isn't the pool shut? Plus I didn't bring a swimsuit.'

'Nope, it stays open until about midnight,' Rin informed, 'plus the pool has loads of spare swim kit we can borrow, I didn't bring mine either,' Haru nodded and smiled.

'In that case, I will,' he said, already relishing the fact he was going to have a late night swim with Rin. He thought about how the pool would be deserted and how the dim lights would make the water in the pool shine in a beautiful manner, and how Rin would be in the lane across, swimming beside him.

'Anyway, I want to challenge you to a rematch for earlier, this time I will not lose,' Rin added, 'I can see there is somebody at the reception still, so should go straight in,' Rin said. He made his way towards the entrance, Haru following behind him.

* * *

Haru and Rin got into the pool no problems, it was dark but still open. When they got to the changing rooms, Rin made his was to a cupboard where they kept the spare swim gear. He put his hand on his chin as he browsed through the cupboard. He pulled out a pair of black jammers with a thick turquoise stripe along each side.

'These look about your size,' he said, throwing them towards Haru, 'have these as well,' he called, as he passed out a pair of goggles and a swim-cap.

'Thank you,' Haru said, as he went to change into the swimsuit Rin gave him.

'Haru?' Rin said. Haru froze for a moment, one leg in his swimsuit.

'Yes?' he replied. Rin then emerged from the cupboard with a flashy red and green speedo, which was about three sizes too small for Rin.

'You reckon I should wear this one?' Rin said, a devious smile on his face. Haru felt his face turn bright red at the thought of Rin in the gaudy swimsuit, the fact it would be way too tight around his crotch and butt would mean that everything  would show through.

'No, you idiot,' Haru muttered, Rin's face then became serious. _  
_

'I was joking, just so you know,' Rin said, a little flustered and surprised by Haru's reaction to the joke, _'why the fuck did I even do that?'_ he thought to himself, as he browsed for a more appropriate swimsuit. He then pulled out a pair of lilac legskins.

'Are these any better?' he asked to Haru, who was already changed. Haru nodded.

'I guess they are, but it really doesn't matter what you wear in the water,' he replied. Rin noted Haru's swimsuit, it really was a good fit on him, it hugged his hips and thighs well, and the turquoise looked good on him.

'You didn't say that about the speedo,' Rin muttered.

'That is different though,' Haru argued, as he tried to erase the whole speedo situation, 'anyway, hurry up and get changed already, I want to swim,' he said. 

 

Changed into swim gear, Haru and Rin went to the poolside. The pool was completely deserted and the water was still, shining from the dim lighting in the pool. Haru rushed to the starting block and dived straight in. Rin observed as Haru elegantly pulled himself through the clear water, swimming freestyle. He looked so relax and happy, he made swimming look effortless, _'beautiful'_ Rin thought, he then climbed into the pool himself, swimming gentle butterfly to warm himself up. He couldn't help but swim in a slow and relaxed manner, with the pool so empty and Haru swimming so effortlessly, it felt wrong to rush. Haru stopped at the side after swimming a couple of lengths. Rin then stopped beside him. _  
_

'Ready for that race?' Rin asked. Haru nodded.

'Yes, just don't cry if you lose again,' Haru replied, taunting his rival.

'I don't cry over stuff like that anymore!' Rin insisted, even though this was a whopping huge lie, he was often noted as being the crybaby of his swim team, '100m freestyle?' Rin asked. Haru replied with a nod. They both climbed out of the pool and got ready. Rin set up a countdown on his phone. They braced up on the starting blocks.

'On your marks,' the phone called. They prepared to dive. then a beep noise sounded. They both dived in. Haru dived in slightly earlier, giving him the head start. Rin wasn't going to him get away, so his pushed himself extra hard, focusing all his energy on catching up with Haru, maybe swimming faster than he had ever swum before. When they reached the turn they were neck and neck. Haru focused on swimming forward, hoping he could regain his lead, but Rin was putting up a fight. Rin slammed his hand on the wall, and Haru a few moments after.

'Yes! I win!' Rin exclaimed, dramatically removing his cap and goggles. Haru looked at Rin, his face full of joy, it was pleasant to look at. Haru felt himself smile as well.

'I'm glad Rin, that was a good race,' he said, he didn't feel crushed by the defeat for some reason, just happy about Rin's win. Yes, he would have loved to had won, but there was something in Rin's victorious expression which made it all ok. 

'You did well too, Haru,'Rin looked back to Haru.  _'why does he look so beautiful?'_ Rin thought, staring at Haru. He didn't know why, but the way the dim light made his blue eyes and damp black hair sparkle, the way the droplets of water were clinging on to his muscles and the small smile on his lips made Haru look truly beautiful.

'why are you staring Rin?' Haru asked.

'I uhhh...' Rin said, feeling his cheeks become warm and a lump form in his throat. He clenched his heart, Rin then spoke in a voice barely louder than a whisper 'Haruka Nanase, I love you.'

 

Haru's mouth dropped open.

'What?' he replied, confused. Rin's cheeks became warmer, _'why did I just say that?'_  Rin thought, becoming more and more flustered, _'I thought I wasn't going to admit that yet, he clearly doesn't feel the same'_

 

 _'_ I said I love you, Haru,' Rin said. There was no response, 'I have always felt something from when we were kids, and I don't know when I fell in love with you, but I just do. You are amazing,' he added. His eyes were now welling up with tears, 'now he will think I am a crybaby along with a complete lovestruck loon' . Haru watched Rin cry, tears falling from his red eyes on to his beautiful face.

'Rin... it is fine,' Haru said, his own cheeks pinkening. Haru swam in to the lane where Rin was and kissed him on the lips. A slow passionate kiss, their first kiss. Haru wrapped his arms around Rin's waist, while Rin tilted his head so he could make the kiss deeper and warmer. Rin shuddered a little as they continued to kiss in the pool, a shudder of happiness. He twisted his fingers into Haru's wet hair, as he wanted the kiss to last as long as possible. They both thought they were in a dream, kissing the man of their dreams. Haru pulled away, 'I love you too, Rin,' Haru said, stroking a hand along Rin's chest. They were both left speechless and out of breath from the kiss. Haru looked at Rin, he was so beautiful and he wanted to be with him all of the time, 'I have always wanted to be yours,' Haru muttered. Rin started to grin, exposing his sharp teeth.

'Wait, you want to be my boyfriend?' Rin asked, his heart pounding at the thought.

'Mhmm,' Haru said, trying his best to act modest, even though his entire body was buzzing, he could swear he was in a dream.

'What about the fact we live so far away?' Rin asked, confused, 'are you fine with going long distance?'

'Yes, the thought of being able to swim with you will be enough to keep me in love with you, no matter where we are,' Haru said, 'can I call you my boyfriend?' Haru asked. Rin replied with a nod.

'Of course,' he then gave Haru a hug, their wet bodies rubbing together, and their hearts both pounding. Even though they were both still a little lost for words, they both couldn't be happier. They were dating the person they loved the most

* * *

'Haru, you can sleep with me in my bed tonight,' Rin announced, as they got back to the apartment. 

'Yes, that would be lovely, Rin,' Haru said, they both went to the bedroom to get changed. As they did so. Rin remembered something.

'Oh yes, Haru,' he said, changing into a pair of shark pyjama bottoms.

'Mhhmm?' Haru replied. Rin took a breath in as he prepared to ask Haru what he wanted to ask. He knew it was going to be awkward, but hopefully since they both had their feelings for each other out on the table, it would't be so bad.

'Last night... I... err... heard some interesting noises from your bed,' he said, beginning to blush, 'and... were you moaning my name?' Rin asked. Haru's entire face turned bright pink, and he dramatically turned his face away _'he heard me masturbating next to him last night? I swore he was fast asleep'_

'Umm... yes... I was,' Haru said, keeping his tone monotonous. Rin rose an eyebrow.

'You were jacking off to me?' Rin said. Haru replied only with a small nod. Rin let out a giggle. However, his giggle stopped moments later when the thought of Haru masturbating came in to his head. Haru with his legs spread, him running a hand up and down his hard cock, his face flustered and his cool voice letting out moans of pleasure as he came. Rin liked this thought a little too much, and it was enough for him to stop teasing Haru over the fact (anyway, it wasn't like he hadn't even done anything dirty while thinking about Haru). Haru climbed into bed.

'Come on Rin, we need to sleep,' Haru said. Rin nodded and climbed in beside Haru. The bed was a bit small for both of them, but it made do.

'Of course, yes,' Rin said, he didn't mind the fact he was a bit close and cozy with Haru, he liked it a lot.

'I love you,' Haru muttered, snuggling a little closer to Rin

'I love you too,' Rin said replied, enjoying Haru's company. Rin knew he wasn't going to get to sleep, he was just so happy about that night's events. He was also looking forward to the morning, he was going to spend another day swimming with Haru and he was going to be able to tell his team the excellent new.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day after the confession, the new boyfriends spend another morning training together. Then, for Haru's final afternoon in Sydney, Rin takes Haru out around the city.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a pain to write, and I am not 100% happy with the writing of it. Please enjoy it though, and I have some big ideas for the next chapter :D. I totally did not make a reference to the end of s2 at all with Andrew/the Australian swimmer's comment. Comments and thoughts are always appreciated.

'We are just training for the morning,' Rin announced, as he pulled his black tank top over his head.

'So what are we doing in the afternoon?' Haru asked, putting his tracksuit jacket on. Rin shrugged his shoulders as he put his hair into a ponytail.

'I guess I could show you a few places,' he said. He walked towards Haru, who was checking himself in Rin's bedroom mirror, and then spoke in a quiet, seductive voice, 'I also have something to show my best boyfriend tonight.'

'What is?' Haru asked, curious about what this 'surprise' was, Rin smirked.

'Surprise,' he replied, picking his sports bag from the floor, 'anyway, we need to go down to the pool, as I need to tell everyone the good news,' he said. Haru nodded.

'Yes, that sounds good, I love you Rin,' Haru said as he proceeded to grab his own blue and white sports bag and follow Rin to the door.

* * *

Rin grabbed Haru's hand as they entered the cafeteria. Haru was shocked by the sudden feeling of Rin's warm hand holding his own. A voice called from the back of the room.

'Oh my god, they are holding hands!' a voice called, it was one of the girls in the coffee shop the previous day. Haru didn't understand what she said, but Rin did. Rin replied back in English.

'Yes, we are dating,' he said, he then gave Haru a loving look. As Rin made this announcement, a few other swimmers rushed over to see the couple. First over was Ruby.

'Aww... you two are so cute, I am so proud of you coming to terms with your feelings Rin,' she said. Rin nervously rubbed the back of his neck.

'Well... thanks,' he replied. Haru was completely lost in what was being said, but he didn't mind as the feeling of Rin's hand wrapped around his own was a nice one. Haru then heard someone speak in Japanese.

'Is Haruka happy?' Haru looked up to see Akane smiling at him. Haru fumbled for a response.

'Uhh... yes,' he said, in English. Rin then turned his head to give Haru a quick kiss on the cheek, a warm kiss which made Haru feel a slight tingle travel up his spine.

'Ready to get changed?' Rin asked, in Japanese, 'we are doing relay training this morning, and then we have the afternoon to do what we want,' he said. Haru gave a small nod.

'Yes, Rin,' Haru grabbed Rin's jacket and pulled his face to meet his, he then planted a kiss right on Rin's lips. Ruby and Akane, who were still in front of them clapped as their lips met. Their warm lips shared a moment together, before they both pulled apart. Rin's face turned pink, shocked at what Haru had just done.

'Haru?' he said, at loss for words. Haru just smiled quietly to himself.

'We need to get changed,' he said, walking to the changing rooms, leaving Rin to follow on behind him.

 

Rin slammed the side of the pool, triggering Haru to dive in. Perfect timing, there was near no time between their dives. 

'I was impressed by their solo race yesterday,' a male swimmer said, who was watching from the side, 'but their relay work is really something else,' they watched as Haru reached the side and they both climbed out of the pool to take a quick break.

'Impressive,' Coach Brown said. Haru smiled humbly.

'Haru loves the relay as much as I do,' Rin replied in English. Their morning session was nearly up already, they had spent the morning practising transitions for a relay. It had been so long since Haru and Rin had swum a relay, but the moment they started practising together it all came back to them. Rin gave Haru a gentle hug, their wet bodies a little slippy.

'Hey, Rin, Haru, how about we do a medley relay before you finish?' James called.

'He wants us to do a relay before we finish,' Rin translated to Haru, who responded with a small smile and a nod.

'We would love to,' Rin replied, James nodded and then some other swimmers walked over, 'ok then. Ruby, Akane, Rin and Haru on one team and Randy, Katie, Lucia and myself on the other, is that ok?' James instructed. Ruby and Akane made their way over to Rin and Haru.

'That sounds great,' Akane said, throwing her tracksuit jacket to the ground. The two teams lined up. First up was Ruby and Randy, the backstroke swimmers. They climbed in the pool and awaited a signal to start. Then there was a beep, and the swimmers launched off.

'Ruby already has the head start,' Rin noted.

'I know, Ruby should have the upper hand as Randy usually swims longer distance races,' Akane replied, making her way to the podium. Ruby slammed the wall and Akane dived in.

'Her dive was a little late,' Haru muttered. 

'It won't matter,' Rin replied. However, it did as soon Katie had overtaken her. Rin took his place on the diving block. Lucia looked over to him.

'Don't get too lovestruck, Rinny' she teased. Rin snapped the strap of his goggles.

'even if I do, I am still going to win,' he replied. Akane hit the wall and then Rin launched off in to the pool. Haru's eyes glimmered as he watched Rin enter the pool, the position of his body was perfect and he entered the water with elegance. Rin soon managed to make up the loss, and had soon overtaken the other butterfly swimmer,' Haru took a deep breath as he prepared his dive. Rin slammed the wall and Haru dived, Rin looked up as he watched his boyfriend enter the pool, Rin hitting the wall and Haru diving was almost like a single fluid motion. Haru managed to increase the gap, leaving James far behind. He felt his heart pound as he carried on his boyfriend's good work. He then reached the side of the pool and put a hand out, winning the race.

'Great work, Haru!' Rin called. Akane and Ruby cheered. Haru looked over to the other lane, where James was, breathing heavily

'Wow, you really are a great swimmer,' he said. They then climbed out.

'Thanks for the race guys,' Rin said, smiling, 'me and Haru's session is over now, so goodbye for now.'

 

'That was a good race,' Rin said, as the two were getting changed in the empty changing room, 'your swimming was mesmerising, as always.'

'It felt good to swim in a relay with you,' Haru replied, as he went to put his trousers on. Rin shook his head, realising at Haru was going to put them straight on over his swimsuit.

'Haru, please put some proper underwear on,' Rin instructed, Haru threw Rin an annoyed look.

'Why? It's just extra effort,' Haru muttered. Rin went into Haru's bag and pulled out a pair of blue spotted boxers.

'Come on, Haru,' Rin pleaded. Keeping his annoyed expression, Haru snatched the boxers.

'Fine,' he said, going to put them on.

'I'm dressed already,' Rin stated. Haru looked at Rin. He was indeed dressed, but Haru could tell he had clearly rushed as he hadn't bothered to put his tracksuit jacket back on, meaning Haru could see that droplets of water still clung to his arms from where he hadn't dried himself properly and his hair was wild and still damp, meaning the ponytail he had put it in was sloppy and had loose hairs straggling out.

'You look a state,' Haru noted. Rin's expression became a frown.

'Rude!' he snapped. Haru finished putting his trousers on and made his way to Rin.

'You do though, let me help sort you out,' Haru said, pulling the hairtie from Rin's hair and grabbing the hairdryer from the wall, 'it's not too hot, is it?' Haru asked. Rin replied by shaking his head, soon Rin's hair was completely dry. Haru reached for the hairbrush he kept in his bag and the violet hairtie from earlier.

'You wear your hair up much more often than you use to,' Haru observed, as he finished brushing Rin's wild hair.

'I do?' Rin replied, confused.

'Yes, when I visit you, when I skype you and in the pictures of you online, that seems to be the case,' Haru stated.

'I guess you are right, I do,' Rin replied, 'do you not like it when I wear it back then?' Haru shook his head as he finished putting his boyfriend's red hair into a tidier low pony.

'No, it makes you look handsome,' he stated, Haru then threw Rin a towel so he could dry his still-wet arms properly, 'but it looks great down as well, you just look great in general, everything about you,' Rin tossed the towel back to Haru.

'Hey, I didn't know you were one to give compliments,' Rin teased. Haru passed Rin the tracksuit jacket which was screwed up in his bag, 'anyway, I should be the one complimenting you, as everything about you is amazing, Haru, I admire you,' Rin added, putting his tracksuit jacket on.

'I...uh... thanks,' Haru replied, flustered.

'Am I presentable now, Haru?' Rin asked. After putting his own jacket on, Haru approached Rin and straightened out the crooked collar of the jacket, he then put his hands by his side and smiled.

'Yes,' he replied, 'also, your team colours look good on you,' Haru noted. Rin scratched the back of his neck.

'You reckon? I always thought purple clashed with the colour of my eyes too much,' Rin replied, 'your team colours suit you really well Haru,' Rin noted, looking at the blue and white of his boyfriend's tracksuit, 'the blue on your jacket matches your eyes perfectly, clear like water.'

 

'Are you going now?' Coach Brown asked, as Rin and Haru left the changing rooms.

'Yes coach,' Rin replied. The coach nodded.

'You both did well this morning,' he said, speaking in the slow tone which Haru managed to understand perfectly. Coach Brown focused on Haru, 'Haru, you are a very talented swimmer, and I am thankful that I let you swim with us, if you ever want to join our team, I will accept you with open arms,' Coach Brown said. Haru's expression changed to shock, had Rin's coach asked him to leave his life in Japan behind and move to Australia? Haru liked the offer, but he already had his answer, he nudged Rin and spoke in Japanese.

'Tell him it is a kind offer, but I have my place on my team in Japan,' he said. Rin nodded and then translated the message back.

'He thanks you for the offer, but he has to decline as he has his own team in Japan,' Rin replied. Coach Brown nodded and smiled.

'I see,' he said, 'anyway, thanks for swimming boys, and see you tomorrow, Rin,' 

'Goodbye, Coach Brown,' Rin called, walking out of the building with Haru.

* * *

'You aren't annoyed at me for declining Coach Brown's offer?' Haru asked, as he sat with Rin on a field, eating the sub-rolls they had bought for lunch.

'Not at all, in fact I would have been annoyed if you did accept, your place is on your team in Japan,' Rin said.

'Are you ok with being in a long distance relationship?' Haru asked, knowing that he was going home tomorrow and he probably wouldn't see Rin in person again for at least a good few months. Rin gave Haru a warm, genuine smile.

'Of course I am, I know we can make it work,' he said, 'anyway, we are going to end up on the Olympic Team together, in the same uniform once again, but until then we are still teammates,' Rin stated, taking a sip from his cola bottle.

'You have always been a romantic idiot,' Haru noted.

'But I'm your romantic idiot, right Haru?' Rin replied, Haru looked away, embarrassed by his boyfriend's comment.

'I guess I am,' Haru replied, 'anyway, what are you planning on doing with me this afternoon?' Haru asked, picking the cucumber out of his sub-roll.

'I was going to take you around the city to go shopping, and then I thought we would stop off at the aquatic centre before going back,' Rin explained.

'I don't want the rest of this,' Haru said, passing Rin the remainder of his sub-roll. Tossing it into a nearby bin, Rin stood up.

'Come on Haru, I know a nice clothes shop I have to take you too.'

 

'You are not buying it,' Haru stated, looking at the leopard print shirt Rin was holding up to his body.

'It's wild though, and they even do it in blue so we can match,' Rin replied. Haru shook his head.

'No it's ridiculous,' Haru pulled out a t-shirt with a cartoonish octopus on it, clearly designed for a young child, 'this is nice.'

'Pffft,' Rin tried to hold back the laughter, 'I guess it is, if you are ten years old,' he replied. Haru responded with an annoyed look.

'Whatever,' he said, turning back to the rack. Rin grabbed two baseball caps from a shelf, one with 'shark' and the other with 'bait' written across it. 

'Can we at least buy these matching caps?' Rin asked.

'If it pleases you,' Haru responded. Rin clapped his hands in excitement as he made his way to the till to purchase the silly hats. Haru continued to look through the racks to see if he could dig out anything which was worth buying, there wasn't really. There were some cute tops with Australian flags on them, but Rin had already bought him one last time he came over to visit. Haru felt something smack on his head.

'Let's go then,' Rin said, slapping the 'bait' cap onto Haru head. Haru adjusted the hat and then nodded. He let Rin drag him into another shop, this time a shop with boomerangs and didgeridoos. Haru liked this shop, he thought the carefully painted patterns on the wooden pieces were beautiful. He ran a finger over a didgeriedoo, with dots of paint in the shape of sea animals.

'Oiy, no touching,' the shop keeper snapped. Haru moved his hand back to his side.

'S-sorry,' he muttered. Haru continued to look around the shop to see if he saw anything which took his fancy. He caught sight of a boomerang painted to look like a dolphin.

'That is gorgeous,' Rin said, approaching Haru from behind.

'Should I buy it? It is expensive,' Haru asked, as he truly did think the boomerang was gorgeous, he loved the elegant blue paint work, even if it was pricey.

'Go for it,' Rin urged. Haru nodded and picked the wooden curve up and took it to the counter. As Haru paid for it, the shopkeeper wrapped the boomerang in paper to protect it and handed it back to Haru. Haru and Rin left the shop, and then went on to the next, Haru knew it was going to be a long afternoon.

* * *

 At the end of their shopping session, Haru had only bought the silly 'bait' cap and the boomerang, while Rin came out with three bags full of accessories. Including a new grey and purple anklet, which he insisted on wearing due to the fact it matched his tracksuit so well. Haru thought Rin looked a little strange in his tracksuit, 'shark' hat and anklet, but somehow he still managed to look good at the same time. Rin and Haru caught a bus to the centre, and then Rin grabbed Haru's arm as they went in.

'You know, I have actually swum here quite a few times,' Rin said, as they made their way to the watching area.

'Really? That is impressive,' Haru replied.

'Yep, do you remember when you swam here, when you realised your dream?' Rin said. Haru looked out at the pool, his cheeks warming as he thought of the amazing trip which managed to bring him out of the low place he was in.

'Yes, I will always love you for doing that,' Haru replied. Rin leaned a little further over the rails, allowing him to get a better look at the swimmers in the pool.

'I know some of the pro team, I have actually swum with them a few times,' Rin stated. Before Haru could respond, a voice shouted up to them.

'Rin! Didn't expect to see you here, mate,' a voice called. Rin called back.

'Hello Andrew!' Rin said in English, he then turned to Haru.

'Lets go down by the pool, as I want to talk to Andrew,' he said. Haru nodded. There was something awfully familiar about the voice he heard calling up, but he really couldn't put a finger on it, so he just followed Rin so he could meet his friend with him.

 

As Rin and Haru made their way to the poolside, a swimmer approached them.

'Rin, it's been a while,' he said, shaking his hand.

'I know, I have been training very hard,' Rin replied. Haru remained silent, he darted his gaze over to the beautiful pool, the national team were in there training hard, the water rippling as they pulled themselves up and down the pool.

'I heard you did well in your last tournament,' Andrew added, the swimmer then noticed Haru, 'who is this with you?' he asked.

'Oh, this is my boyfriend Haru,' Rin said. Rin nudged Haru, causing him to look back to Rin and the swimmer with him. The swimmer's eyes widened in realisation.

'Wait, I have seen you down here before, I remember you came here with Rin before, didn't you?' he said. Haru then looked at the swimmer, he recognised him instantly: blond curly hair and a reassuring smile, he was the swimmer who spoke to him when he visited last time, the time when he realised his dream.

'I remember you...' Haru said, in English, 'nice to meet you,'

'Haru swims in Japan, we are both aiming for the world together,' Rin said to Andrew in English.

'Nice, glad to see you are doing good,' Andrew replied, 'I am hoping to see you both in Rome, maybe even in the same race,' he said. Rin rose an eyebrow in confusion.

'Rome?' he asked. Andrew gave Rin a smile.

'You know, for the next annual World Championships,' he said. Haru tugged on Rin's sleeve.

'What did he say?'' Haru asked.

'Nothing much,' Rin replied in Japanese, rubbing his neck. The Australian swimmer then made his leave as a coach called him over, leaving Rin and Haru to look out at the pool for a moment longer. Taking in the view, a view of the world they had entered. Rin made a hand gesture and turned back to the exit.

'Come on Haru, we need to get back now, I am cooking mackerel for dinner.'


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rin wakes Haru in the middle of the night to take him to the beach as part of his 'surprise'. Rin shows Haru sights he has never seen before, and they give each other a special gift before Haru leaves to go back to Japan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This wasn't a very long chapter and has a LOT of nsfw. Next up in the fic will be some chapters about them and how they maintain a long-distance relationship. Please leave comments/etc. as I appreciate reading thoughts and feedback on this chapter.

Rin glanced over at the clock, it was midnight. Perfect. Rin had kept himself awake for the last few hours for this moment, everytime he was about to drop off he would move around to stop his conciousness slip away. Rin put a hand on Haru's shoulder and shook it.

'Haru, Haru, wake up,' Rin called, shaking the shoulder. There was no response, he was cold out. Rin ran a hand through his bed-messed hair and then tried again, 'come on Haru, I have something to show you, it's the surprise I was telling you about earlier,' Haru stirred.

'Mmmm? What?' he muttered, 'it is the middle of the night, what do you want?' Haru hissed, his eyes remaining closed.

'You won't regret it, just put a fleece or something over your nightwear and follow me,' Rin said, sitting up and throwing a black fleece over the vest top he was sleeping in. Haru sat up and reached for his own blue hoodie.

'This better be worth it,' he muttered, standing up. Rin gave a devious smile.

'It will be, trust me,' Rin said, waiting for Haru to follow him out of the door. The streets were deserted, it was so late that most people were at home and it was a suprisingly warm night. Haru followed Rin, who was wearing shark print pyjama bottoms, which meant that if anyone saw him they would think he was a loon. Rin had also brought a small bag with him. Haru continued to follow Rin, still wanting to know where their destination was. Rin stopped walked, Haru looked around him. In front of him was a stretch of golden sand, the ocean rolled up and down the sand, silently as not a soul was there. They were at the beach.

 

'Come on, Haru,' Rin said, gesturing for Haru to go down on the beach. Haru did, he let his feet sink in to the soft sand, and smelt the gentle scent of the ocean, 'we are going swimming!' Rin exclaimed.

'I didn't bring a swimsuit!' Haru exclaimed, it was just like last night, Rin had taken him on a mystery tour to somewhere where they could swim and they weren't correctly equipped. Rin let out a laugh and then gave Haru one of his seductive looks, the ones which always made Haru's cheeks turn pink.

'We are going skinny dipping,' Rin said, as he started to strip. Haru, the boy who never usually hesitated at stripping for water, was in shock at Rin's proposal, in a good way, but still shocked, 'nobody will see us this late, come on!' Rin was already naked, his bare ass facing towards Haru. Knowing that deep down it would be a great experience, Haru also stripped down. 

'Ok, ready,' Haru called, the two then ran into the sea. The water was surprisingly warm and by no means unpleasant. Haru swam through the water, the gentle waves hitting him every few moments. The way the stars reflected on the water made it look and feel like he was swimming through the night sky. Beautiful. Haru stopped swimming and stood up, as he shook the droplets of water off his hair, he felt cold water hit him. He looked up to see Rin splashing him, laughing as he did so.

'You shit yourself,' he said, continuing to laugh. Haru smirked and the smacked his hand on the water, causing water to splash Rin and his laughing to cease, 'hey!' he said, splashing Haru back again. Haru simply retaliated once again, getting his boyfriend soaked. This continued on for a few more minutes, the constant pattern of them splashing each other, it was the sort of thing they always used to do when they were kids.

'That is enough,' Haru announced, as he flipped his hair. Rin folded his arms.

'Ok, if you insist,' he then made his way closer to Haru, 'it is beautiful tonight... the night sky really brings out the colour of your eyes,' Rin said, trying to sound as romantic as possible.

'You can be so cheesy,' Haru muttered, 'but it is sweet, you looked so happy when you were splashing me,' he added. Rin reached under the water and held Haru's hands.

'It is because I am,' he said, 'happy to be here with you, I will miss you tomorrow,' Rin said.

'It will be just like every other time I go back after a visit,' Haru said, Rin shook his head.

'No it won't, as before you were just my friend and rival, and now you are my boyfriend as well,' Rin said, his eyes beginning to well up with tears. Haru let out a sigh.

'Come here, you idiot,' he said. Haru held Rin's face so he could give him a kiss. Their warm lips touching once again. Rin wrapped his arm's around Haru's chest, holding their bodies close together and Haru laced his fingers through Rin's red hair, the soft texture was comforting and it's length meant Haru could easily twist and knot his fingers in amongst it. Haru tilted his head slightly so he could get a better kiss, resting his free hand on his boyfriend's waist. After enjoying the moment, Rin pulled away. Rin ran the back of his hand down Haru's wet cheek.

'You are such an amazing kisser,' he said. Rin then broke contact and swam a little further out into the ocean, Haru followed on after him.

 

Rin put a hand on Haru's crotch.

'Heh, you are kind of hard already,' Rin said, teasing his boyfriend. Haru looked away, blushing a little.

'Don't do that,' he said, ashamed that Rin had discovered the fact. Rin did not move his hand, he kept it there.

'You know, I could show you another sight you haven't seen before,' Rin said, now gently rubbing the tip of Haru's dick. The sensation was only making Haru more and more excited. Haru knew whatever this sight was, it was going to be dirty, but he was interested all the same, as maybe he would enjoy whatever stunt Rin was going to pull.

'Go on then,' Haru said. Rin then proceeded to rub his hand up and down Haru's cock, the firm grip exciting him.

'How is it,' Rin said, his own face becoming flustered and red.

'Mmmph, Rin,' Haru moaned, he felt his body tingle as Rin continued to thrust his hand up and down the length of Haru's cock.  It was just like how Haru had fantasised. The strong grip, the gentle thrusts of his hand. It was bliss. His crotch grew warmer and warmer the more Rin continued the action, Haru let out another moan.

'You nearly at a climax?' Rin asked, his own face and cock becoming warmer and warmer. Haru could only respond with a nod. Rin let go of the dick and took a deep breath in, he then disappeared under the ocean. Moments later, Haru felt it, Rin's mouth around his cock. The sharpness of his teeth gave Haru an aroused sensation. It only took a matter of moments for him to cum in Rin's mouth. Rin re-emerged from the water and spat out at the water, 'how was that then?' he asked. Haru, who was breathing heavily gave his response.

'Don't do dirty stuff like that in the water,' he said, his face flustered and warm from what had just happened. Rin let out a laugh as he wiped the semen from his cheek.

'You really never change Haru, even when you just had an orgasm,' Rin teased.

'Shut up,' Haru said, trying to hide the fact that he really enjoyed Rin's 'sight' Rin gave Haru another one of his sexual looks.

'You know, we could go into shallower water and you could show me a sight,' Rin said.

'I guess I could,' Haru replied, smiling a little.

 

Haru put his lips around Rin's hard cock, beginning to suck and move his head up and down.

'Haru!' Rin moaned. Rin pulled on Haru's hair a little, drawing him closer and closer, but not so much that he gagged. Rin's cheeks were burning red from the sensation of Haru's lips around his dick. Haru had never done anything like it before, but Rin was still impressed, good at it and satisfying him, 'Haru!' Rin moaned. The water only reached their knees, so Haru didn't have to hold his breath, but the water around them just made the experience a little better. Rin felt himself. Haru continued the same movements, getting pleasure himself from the feeling of Rin's cock inside his mouth, a feeling which sent a tingle up his spine. Rin let out a loud moan as he came. Haru felt the white stuff flow into his mouth, the strange texture catching him off guard. Haru pulled away from the cock, the semen still in his mouth. Haru looked down at the ocean below him, he couldn't spit into the ocean, so he swallowed. He shuddered as the salty taste ran down his throat.

'That tasted weird,' Haru muttered, using his hand to wipe any remaining mess from his face.

'So you like swallowing?' Rin teased, still breathing heavily.

'Whatever,' Haru responded, trying to erase the strange salty taste from his mouth. They made their way out of the water. Rin reached into the small bag he had brought and produced a couple of towels.

'How was my surprise then?' Rin asked, trying to get his hair as dry as possible. Haru went to dry his muscles

'Impressive,' Haru responded.

'Glad, I just thought I would try and pull out all the stops for someone like you,' Rin stated, drying his chest and legs.

'Just don't tell your teammates about the dirty stuff,' Haru warned, as he started to put his clothes back on. Rin tossed his towel back in the bag.

'Of course not, those sort of things will stay private between us,' Rin reassured, responding to his boyfriend's wishes. Haru gave Rin a warm smile.

'Thank you, thank you for such a great night.'

* * *

'I'm going to call the taxi for the airport soon,' Haru called, as he zipped his suitcase up.

'Can I come with you?' Rin asked, wanting to be able to wave his boyfriend off.

'I don't see why not,' Haru replied. Rin sat on the bed, where Haru's packed suitcase lay.

'Thank you for being here these last few days,' Rin said, running a finger over the black suitcase.

'Thank you for everything too, Rin,' Haru said, 'I am glad to be your boyfriend.'

'Promise me you will try to stay in touch,' Rin said, 'I know it is hard for you but we will need to if we want to make it work,' Haru gave an understanding nod.

'I will, I will need to tell Makoto about us when we get back, I'm sure he will be proud,' Haru thought about Makoto's response, he would be happy for Haru, he hoped. Even though part of him wanted to keep his relationship as quiet as possible, he at least wanted to tell his closed friends and maybe more. Rin's face suddenly changed to an _'oh shit I forgot'_ expression.

'Crap, I haven't told Gou yet,' Rin said, feeling bad that he hadn't informed his sister of his relationship yet.

'I'm sure Kou won't mind,' Haru reassured.

'Yeah, you are right, she knows I am busy,' Rin stood up and made his way to his wardrobe, 'I have one final gift I want to give you,' he then re-appeared with a tracksuit jacket, his teams tracksuit jacket. He presented it to Haru, who put it on.

'Thank you, Rin,' he said, the jacket was soft and comfortable. It smelt like cherry blossom shampoo, it smelt like Rin.

'The team colours look so good on you,' Rin said, admiring his boyfriend in his jacket. Haru then opened up his suitcase and pulled out his own tracksuit jacket, he then thrusted it to Rin.

'Here,' he said. Rin put the jacket on. The white and blue looked strange on Rin, as Haru was so used to seeing him in dark colours, yet it still looked good, the white making Rin look more innocent than usual.

'Thank you Haru,' Rin said, giving Haru an embrace as he enjoyed the jacket which Haru had given him.

 

Rin waited with Haru at the airport for as long as possible, but soon he was called for his flight.

'Promise me you will talk to me as soon as possible,' Rin said. Haru gave a nod.

'Yes, I will,' Haru replied. the announcement for Haru's flight then sounded.

'Remember, I love you,' Rin said, giving Haru a quick final kiss on the cheek.

'I love you too, Rin,' Haru then turned and made his way to board his flight. The trip was over. He was going back to Japan where he would return to his normal training and his normal team. Makoto would be waiting for Haru at the airport. Haru turned around again, Rin was getting further and further away. The tall muscular figure getting smaller and his features getting more and more indistinguishable the further he walked. The red eyes, the shark teeth, the red ponytail and the tracksuit jacket Haru had given him. Haru was still scared about how he would deal with a long distance relationship, but it was going to happen, just before Rin was out of an earshot, he called back once more, 'I will message you after training when I get back.'


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haru returns to Japan, and he brings back the news about his relationship. After a long day of training, and a few unexpected events, the couple find themselves getting a little embarrassed and self-concious when it comes to seeing each other over a video call.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, I knew this chapter took a while as I had a bad case of writers block, which I should be over now. This chapter contains lots of cute long distance stuff, which the next few chapters will focus around. There will also be some nsfw stuff too in a few chapters, so enjoy.

'He should be here by now,' Makoto muttered, as he looked down at his watch and back up at the board with information for arrivals. Maybe there was a delay, or he had an issue with his luggage. Makoto looked in front of him, and he saw Haru walking towards him wheeling a suitcase, 'Haru!' he called, as he watched Haru approach.

'I could see you,' Haru replied. Makoto looked at Haru, who was clearly exhausted from the flight and looked a little strange in his purple and grey jacket and his 'bait' hat.

'Did you have a nice time?' Makoto asked, walking out of the airport.

'It was amazing,' Haru replied, his lips twitching into a small smile. 

'You must have, as you are smiling,' Makoto responded as he noted his friend smiling.

'Have you not guessed?' Haru said. Makoto put a hand on his chin as he wondered what Haru was getting at.

'No... sorry,' he said, unable to understand his friend's vagueness. Haru gestured towards Rin's tracksuit.

'Whos team wears this?' Haru asked.

'Rin,' Makoto responded. Haru remained silent. It then hit Makoto, 'you have started dating Rin!' he exclaimed. Haru replied with a small nod, 'I am so proud of you, I always knew you two suited each other so well,' he said, proud of his friend's achievements.

'I am very happy,' Haru said.

'What did you do over in Australia?' Makoto asked, curious about Haru's experience. Haru let out a loud yawn.

'I'm pretty tired from the flight, can you save the questions for tomorrow?' Haru requested. 

'Of course,' Makoto said, understanding completely. They were now out of the airport, and they decided to find a taxi so Haru could get home for the night and catch up on much-needed sleep.

* * *

Training was very tedious the next day. The coach told him to just swim up and down the pool to improve his stamina. The news that 'Haruka had a boyfriend' soon got out amongst the team. Haru told a couple of his close friends of the news, and of course they told their friends and so on and so forth. Haru didn't mind, his relationship with Rin was one he was proud of, but he just didn't like all the intrusive questions. Haru remembered that he had promised he would try and talk to Rin after practise that day, and he was still on track to do so, even if it did feel like extra effort. Towards the end of Haru's session, he found himself in a daze as he swam up and down the pool, he loved swimming but he couldn't focus, so he let his mind wander as he pulled himself up and down the pool. He thought about Rin. Where would Rin be now? He would probably be in his own training session, or maybe just finished. Pushing himself up and down the pool while his friends and coach all talked about how great he was. Haru had felt something during the time in Australia, and extra little drive which made him want to push himself further. Haru peered from the corner of his eye to the lane beside him. Another swimmer was swimming freestyle, a little ahead of himself. The swimmer wasn't someone he could easily pick out, it was just another swimmer, nothing which motivated him. What if it was Rin? That would motivate him. Haru tried to imagine that this faceless swimmer was Rin: he pictures Rin's  red and black swimsuit, Rin's muscular body, Rin's red hair, Rin's eyes behind the goggles, Rin's sharp teeth pulled into a small smirk. Haru felt himself pushing forward, faster and faster, ready to overtake Rin, who was swimming a little ahead of him. This was an international race, and he wasn't going to lose without a fight. The Rin who he loved, if he won this race he could imagine Rin kiss Haru and congratulate him on such a great race, this was their future. Smack. Haru snapped out of his daze and stood up in the water as he felt hard concrete hit his forehead. He had smacked into the wall of the pool.

'Haruka, are you ok?' The Coach said, rushing over. Haru pulled his cap and goggles off and rested the palm of his hand on the spot a little above his left eye where it hurt the most.

'Fine, I can carry on,' he replied, even though this wasn't the case, he felt his forehead throb and everything spin and distort around him. The Coach's face changed to one of concern.

'No, you are not ok, you must have hit it pretty hard and scraped it, it is bleeding a little,' he said. Haru removed the hand, to see there was a little blood on it, 'I know you are supposed to be swimming a little longer, but you need to get out and see the first-aiders,' he said. Haru gave a small nod and pulled himself out of the pool, his head still throbbing.

 

'That is a funny thing for you to do, Haruka,' the pool first-aider, who was a woman about five years older than Haru, as she cleaned up the wound with a wipe. The wipe stung a little, but Haru remained still.

'I... was daydreaming,' Haru said,  _'why did that happen?'_ Haru thought to himself, he never usually did silly things like smacking his head on the wall by not being careful. He was tired and too busy thinking about Rin, it was a dangerous combo. The woman reached into the red box and pulled out a white dressing.

'I know, but I never thought you would do something like that,' she said, placing the dressing on the wound, she tilted her head a little and smiled, 'there that is all cleared up, I would go home and rest, as you really must be tired,' she said. Haru peered at himself in the mirror in the room. The wound had already swollen a little, and he now had a large white glaring obvious square over the wound. 

'It looks so obvious,' Haru muttered. The woman gave a sympathetic smile.

'It doesn't really, anyway, I'm sure that lovely hair of yours will cover it up,' she said. On this comment, Haru brushed his fringe back into place with his fingers, it did help a lot, but part of the white still peeked out between the part in his hair, which caused Haru to let out a sigh. He was going to have to Skype Rin with the ridiculous bandage on his head.

'Thanks anyway,' he said, making his way out of the room. Leaving the room, Haru heard talking from the refectory. He looked into the room to see a group of girls all talking.

'Did you hear that Haruka has a boyfriend?' one said.

'Oh yes!' Another exclaimed. One of the girls then gave a confused look to her friends.

'Really? What is he like?' she asked.

'His name is Rin, he is Japanese but lives in Australia, they have been friends for ages,' the first girl said.

'I saw a picture of him earlier. He is kind of tall with a great body, you can tell he is a fantastic swimmer. He has this amazing red hair, which is kind of long. These ruby eyes, which look really passionate and fiery. He even has sharp teeth, which I think are really cute. He is so good looking, I am so happy for Haru,' the second girl added, another girl then spoke.

'He also pulls all these sexy faces, you need to see him,' the girl then toned her voice down to a whisper, 'oh yes, what is up with Haruka? He hit his head on the wall, he never usually does stuff like that,' this statement made Haru's head pound like he had just hit it all over again  _'no need to keep talking about it'_ he thought to himself. Haru decided this would be the best time to leave and go home, to save himself further embarrassment. 

* * *

Rin clicked on the window to Skype. The jingle sounded and the program popped up. Haru still wasn't on, he was probably finishing off his practise session. Rin knew he would have to be prepared, as Haru did say he was going to give a quick video call tonight. It had been under two days since Haru had went back, and he was missing him already. Last night, Rin had barely slept, as the feeling of Haru's warm body was gone. Rin caught sight of himself in the mirror. He looked awful, the lack of sleep made him look and feel dead, his eyes rimmed by black circles, and sleeping on his hair damp the previous night meant it had dried in loose curls, he also hadn't bothered to shave or wash his face properly that morning. He couldn't be asked to put any decent clothes on so he had thrown on a baggy t-shirt and his pink hoodie. He adjusted the hoodie to it fit right and pushed his wavy hair back with red headband. He guessed he could shave as well, just so he didn't look completely gross in front of Haru. He made his way in to the bathroom and prepped his face and razor, he then began to remove the stubble from his chin. He felt the razor snag.

'For fucks sake,' he said, dragging it down his face. He then felt it nick, 'shit,' he muttered, looking at the cut on his face. Blood was rushing out of the cut he had made on his left cheek. He quickly slapped a wad of tissue on the gash as he reached for a plaster. Rin found a plaster and then fumbled to slap it on the wound. Done. He looked in the mirror. Even though his face was now nice and smooth, he now a plaster on his cheek. Brilliant. Haru was going to think he was going mad. Rin heard a ping from his laptop, someone had sent in a Skype message, it must be Haru.

 

Rin checked the message on the laptop,

'hey,' it read, followed by a winking face. Rin felt a slight rush of disappointment.

'Is that all he is going to say?' Rin muttered. He then tapped in his response which read 'ready to video chat, I have missed your face <3' Rin then entered and waited. Moments later the response

'Can we not,' Haru replied. Rin let out a sigh.

'You promised,' he typed again. He should have known Haru was going to be like this, there was a reason that he had barely spoken to Haru through Skype since he had moved to Australia, and he always had known that Haru hated camera. It had only been a day or so yet Rin was missing Haru more than ever. A response then came.

'I look awful,' it read. Rin let out a sigh, he would have never expected Haru to be worrying about that sort of thing.

'I look pretty rough too, it doesn't matter,' Rin typed back, his sounds fingers moving over the keyboard like a machine gun's fire. It did matter though, Rin didn't want Haru to see him looking as rough as he did, but the fact he wanted to do this video chat so badly meant he hoped Haru wouldn't mind. The response came.

'Fine, give me a minute,' Rin felt his body relax, it had taken a bit of effort, but he got there.

* * *

 Haru took a moment to compose himself. He didn't like going on camera. In fact, the whole seemed so much effort in practise. It seemed a nice idea, but he just found getting out his laptop and turning on his webcam so much effort. Haru glanced at himself in the mirror. The case with his forehead hadn't gotten any better, it was still swollen, and it would probably be bruised underneath the white dressing. Maybe he could brush his bangs completely over his face and eyes to cover up the bandage better, but that would just lead to Rin moaning that he couldn't see his 'beautiful eyes'. Whatever. Haru turned on the camera, he took a deep breath as it warmed up and the preview screen appeared. He then tapped the button the start the call. Deep breath, and try to smile, as he wanted to make Rin happy, as he loved him so much. Rin's face then appeared on the screen. He wasn't lying when he said he looked rough, he looked so tired.

'Haru, there you are,' Rin said, looking at the screen.

'Hi, Rin,' Haru replied, he tried to angle his head in a way which covered the bandage, but he couldn't do it.

'You don't look awful at all, what are you talking about?' Rin asked, Haru then proceeded to lift up his dark hair to reveal the bandage. Rin gave a concerned expression.

'That looks pretty nasty,' Rin said, worried about his boyfriend, 'how did that happen?' Rin asked. Haru turned his face away in embarrassed.

'I hit my head on the pool wall,' Haru muttered. Rin let out a snort, 'it's not funny,' he snapped. Rin then cleared his throat.

'It just seems so unlike you to do that sort of thing, Momo always smacked his head on the wall,' Rin said, 'anyway, I guess we match,' Rin said gesturing towards the plaster on his cheek.

'I guess that makes us both idiots, I guess that is why we go well together,' Haru replied, 'you look pretty tired, have you not been sleeping?' Haru asked. Rin nervously scratched the back of his neck.

'Yeah, it felt weird not having you next to me last night,' he said. Haru felt his heart beat a little faster   _'he feels that way after one day apart?_ He really must be missing me'  he thought to himself.

'You really a romantic idiot,' Haru muttered, 'anyway, how was you training today?' Haru asked. Rin gave a smile.

'I didn't have a session today,' Rin said, 'but I still went to the pool and everyone said that they missed you already, I am back in to normal training tomorrow.'

'Good, we need to both work hard,' Haru said. Rin then leaned back in his chair.

'So Haru, except for bumping your head against the wall, how was your training?' Rin asked. Haru tried to remember the mind numbing session he had today.

'Boring,' Haru said. Rin rose an eyebrow in surprise.

'Boring?' Rin said, shocked that the boy who loved swimming so much had called it boring, 'I would never expect you to say that, are you sure you didn't bump yourself too badly?' Haru let out a sigh.

'No, it just was kind of dull for some reason... I didn't not enjoy it... I just don't know,' Haru muttered, Haru decided to change the subject, 'Makoto is glad for us,' he said. Rin's expression changed to a happy one at this news.

'That is good, that reminds me that I need to chat to him a few days,' Rin said, 'what about your team, do they know?' Rin asked. This question brought back memories to the girls around the table.

'It... got around,' Haru muttered. Rin let out a laugh.

'I knew you wouldn't be able to keep quiet about it,' he teased. Haru felt his cheeks become warmer as Rin played with this fact.

'I didn't tell that many people...' Haru replied. Rin let out a yawn.

'I am kind of tired, so I should get offline and have a shower before bed,' he said, 'nice speaking to you, hopefully we can talk again when we get the time, I love you' he added. Haru nodded, part of him disappointed that their conversation had already come to a close.

'Ok, I love you too,' Haru replied,  Rin blew a kiss to Haru and the call ended.

 

Haru looked at his laptop screen for a little longer. He had done it. He had called Rin in a video chat. He still felt like it was effort, but he knew Rin was going to keep encouraging him to do more. Haru looked around his room for a moment to allow him to think. He could probably email Rin a few pictures tomorrow, just of him and some of his team, as Rin hadn't seen any yet. He also knew that Rin would probably phone call him some time. Haru heard a ping from his phone. He checked it to see Rin had texted him a photo of him making a heart with his fingers. The text read 'I <3 u' Haru let out a sigh. He really was cheesy when it came to love. All the same. Haru made the same gesture, while keeping his face deadpan and took a photo. He then texted the photo back to Rin with the caption 'love you too'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, I am adding an update here.  
> Recently, I have really hit a wall with this fic, I cannot get motivated or inspired at all.  
> I am putting the fic aside on an indefinite hiatus for now, I may go back to it later when I feel more ready.  
> However, I did have a few scenes from later chapters written adapt, which I will adapt into oneshots and post on ao3.  
> Hopefully I will be able to go back to this later, but I am sorry I am having trouble writing this right now


End file.
